RAZR MAXX HD

Back in August, we talked about a root checker that Motorola had built into devices like the RAZR and RAZR MAXX. To see if a device was rooted or had been rooted in the past, all you had to do was boot into recovery and look towards the middle of the screen for “qe” in yellow lettering followed by a 0/0, 0/1, or 1/1. If a “1” was included at all, that meant your device had either been rooted before or was currently rooted. It was a sneaky move, to say the least. (more…)

Earlier this week, we wrote that Verizon was starting to push out the Jelly Bean update to owners of the RAZR HD and MAXX HD, but it was in small batches. This morning, it seems to be a wider push and we have a lot of readers writing in to say they are getting the update. With the update, owners will be able to take advantage of Google Now, enhanced notifications, Project Butter, and an improved keyboard. Beyond that, Verizon and Motorola also improved voice and data connectivity, the user experience in the calendar, and Back Up Assistant. They removed Verizon Video and Color application, but added in the suite of Amazon apps.

To help manage the massive notification light on devices like the RAZR HD, Motorola has created a Notification Light Widget that can be downloaded from Google Play for free. It’s about as simple as it sounds – tap it to turn your notification light off, tap it again to turn it back on. It should work for other devices as well, even those not made by Motorola. And even if your device has a way to turn this off through Settings, this is a quicker shortcut that can be applied to a home screen.

This morning, DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD owners are waking up to Jelly Bean. Verizon has started to push out build number 9.1.41 to devices in batches, as usual. With the update, owners will be able to take advantage of Google Now, enhanced notifications, Project Butter, and an improved keyboard. Beyond that, Verizon and Motorola also improved voice and data connectivity, the user experience in the calendar, and Back Up Assistant. They removed Verizon Video and Color application, but added in the suite of Amazon apps.

The Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) update for the DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD has been approved by Verizon as build 9.1.41. With a soak test scheduled to start any day now, we can’t imagine that the rollout of the update to all owners of the device will be far behind.

As expected, the update includes all of the new Jelly Bean goodies like Google Now, better notifications, an improved keyboard, better Voice Search, Project Butter, and more. Beyond that, Verizon and Motorola also improved voice and data connectivity, the user experience in the calendar, and Back Up Assistant (ugh). They removed Verizon Video and Color application, but added in the suite of Amazon apps.

During Motorola’s announcement of the DROID RAZR HD and RAZR M, they told us that a Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) update would arrive on each before the end of 2012. They appear to be sticking to that, as software testing invites have gone out to members of the Motorola Feedback Network that own a RAZR HD. Keep in mind that this also includes the RAZR MAXX HD, since these two devices are identical other than their battery sizes.

There is no guarantee that this is Jelly Bean, but at this point, what else would it be? Motorola is taking updates more serious than ever, so we would be surprised if it wasn’t Android 4.1. Also, keep in mind that the RAZR M received the 4.1 update a week or so ago.

Verizon customers with upgrades or a craving for a new smartphone are going to have a tough decision to make as we head into the holiday shopping season. The HTC DROID DNA hits stores next week on the 21st, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 shouldn’t be far behind it on the 29th, and the DROID RAZR MAXX HD with its mega-battery is already available. Making matters even more complicated, you also can’t ignore Google’s new Nexus 4, even if it would take you off of Verizon and into the land of unlocked GSM phones.

So how do they stack up against each other? To hopefully help answer that question, the chart below was put together as a breakdown of all of the major specs, plus pricing. You should also check out our Galaxy Note 2 review and RAZR MAXX HD review while we work our reviews for both the DNA and Nexus 4. (more…)

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